Protective device for sorting machines



y 29, 1952 H. P. MIXER PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR SORTING MACHINES Filed Aug.7, 1948 5 Sheet Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HAROLD RMlXEP BY 0m.

ATTORNEY July 29, 1952 M|XER 2,605,102

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR SORTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 7, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet3 IN VEN TOR. HAROLD P. MIXER BY L1 L-AtL ATTORNEY Patented July 29, 1952 rao'rEorrvE DEVICE Fon sonrmo MACHINES q 11mm P; Mixer, RockvilleCentre, N. Y., assignor to Remington Rand Inc., New York, N. Y., acorporation of. Delaware Application'August 7, 1948, Serial N0.'43,137

' .7 Claims. (01. 271-57) This invention relates to statistical machinesoperated by record cards, and more particularly to a device for stoppingmachines of the general character or type disclosed in Patent 1,315,370to W. W. Lasker, dated September 9, 1919, when cards are abnormally fedinto said machines.

For illustrative purposes, an embodiment of the present invention isshown as it would be applied to the machine described and illustrated inPatent 1,476,161 to W. W. Lasker, dated December 4, 1923. 1

Heretofore, and as disclosed in Patent 2,071,487 to Zennig et al., datedFebruary 23, 1937, a stopping device has been provided for stopping asorting machine upon the occurrence of 'a card jam in the transportingrolls, or beyond the analyzing chamber. However, no such provision hasbeen made for stopping the machine when a card is fed aslant, orotherwise abnormally fed, into said analyzing chamber, and forresponding efliciently to card jams which invariably result from saidabnormal feeding.

Consequently, when a jam occurs a considerable number of cards aremutilated before the machine can be manually stopped; This results incard wastage and time losses, both in replacing said mutilated cards andin the'difficult task of removing them from the analyzing chamber. Also,it is imperative that amach ine operator be ever watchful and readytostop the machine when such a jam does take place.

Therefore, it is the principal object of this invention to provide astopping device capable of rendering a card operated business machinemore automatic and eflicient. 1

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stopping deviceadapted to stop a card operated machine immediately upon the sensing ofan impending card jam due to the abnormal feeding of a card into theanalyzing chamber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device forreducing the amount of vigilance and attendance necessary during theoperation of a sorting machine.

Another object of the invention is to produce a device of this naturewhich is simple in con struction and eflicient in operation.

Other objects and structural details of the invention will be apparentfrom the following description when read in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a top plan view illustrating themanner in which the present inventionis'secured to the analyzingmechanism of a sortingmachine;

Fig. 2 is a. front elevational view with certain parts removed for thesake of clearness; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section along the line 3-3ofFig.2. 1

In the machine described in the above mentioned Patent 1,476,161, cardsare fed seriatim and parallelly by suitable feeding 'means to ananalyzing chamber, in which theyare held while being sensed by a,reciprocating analyzingmechanism, one reciprocation of said analyzingmechanism being suflicient to analyze. the data in a card. As alsodescribed in saidpatent,-both the feeding means and the analyzingmechanism are actuated through a chain of driving elements and anelectric motor, said motor being controlled by an electric switch. 1Description herein of said-feedingxmeans and analyzing mechanism will"be brief,- since the present invention is fully applicableqto themachine described in the abovementioned patent. Referring to thedrawing, and particularly to Fig. 1, it is seen that the presentinventionand the mechanisms withwhich it associates, is housed betweenleft and right handsupportingmembers I0 and II, respectively. ,Also, itis seen that a frame 12, for carrying an analyzing unit, not hereinshown, is slidably mounted on posts l3 and I4 and is r'eciprocated,through the action of pitmans l5 and 'I4,;ec,centrically carried onshaft I! (Fig. 2),which shaft ,is mounted for rotation in supportingmember s; ,l 0;;andg ll." ;At the left end of the shaft I1 isprovidedahand wheel with which said shaftrnaybe turned manually; Theright end of saidshaft ll' enters a gear box l8 in which it is;-,gearedto -,suitable motor driven means, not herein shown. This arrangement issuch as to reciprocate vertically the analyzer frame 12: M 3 a As bestseen in Fig. 3., arr-analyzing chamber [9 is provided tojreceivecardsfed thereinto by the card feeding means. As'previously explained, saidfeeding means is effective'through driving elements and. motor meansnot; herein shown.

Through said driving elements an -arm"20 and a link 2| are adaptedtooscillate a card picker plate 22 beneath a card .;magazine 23, whichmagazine isprovided to hold a stacked quantity of cards therein.Adjustably fixed to said plate 22 is a knife edge 24, andfixed in a likemanner to said magazine 23 is a throat member 25.

In normal operation, the completion of the aforementioned motor circuitby switch operating means, to be hereinafter described, effects theoscillation of the plate 22. During one oscillation of said plate, theknife edge -24 thereon engages the rear edge of the'lowe'r'most stackedcard in the magazine 23,.and feeds it through the throat member '25 toconstantly rotating feed rolls 26, which rolls introduce the card to thechamber I9, into which it is fully fed by rolls l0. Repeatedoscillations of plate. 22 effect a seriatim feeding of said cards whichisin a timed relation with the reciprocations of the analyzer frame l2,while; the side walls of said magazine 23 assure apar'allelrelationbetween said cards as they are fed therefrom."

As shown in Fig. 3, the above mentioned switch break the current.

operates a switch arm 23, mounted on a pivot 36,

said member being adapted to be moved into l The timing between thefeeding and analyzing engagement with the switch points by means of Whenthe a manually operated plunger 3|. plunger 3| is depressed, and theswitch member 29 is engaged with the switch points, it is heldin thisposition by means of a trigger lever 32 to which said plunger isconnected, which lever is mounted on the pivot 33 and connected to theswitch member by a spring 33, said lever '32 'out of engagement with theswitch points 2-8.

On the switch arm 29 is a locking pawl #3 adapted to engage a notch 4|in the hand lever 36, and moved'in'to said engagement by a spring 42.This pawl 40 maintains the lever 36 in position to have the latch nose34 on the lever 32 properly engage the notch 35. As also seen better inFig. 2, an arm 43 extends from the locking lever 36 and is adapted tocooperate with an outer arm of a lever '44, fulcrumed as at 45 on thesupportingmember it). When the inner arm of said lever is moved upward,the outer arm is moved downward, engaging the extending arm 43 of thelocking lever 36, which operates'said lever 36 to release the triggerlever 32, and permit its spring}!!! to throw the switch arm 29 out ofengagement with the points 28 and thereby With reference toboth Figs. 2and 3, a lever 46, having a shoulder 41 and an extending arm 3, ispivoted as at '49 to a bracket secured to the supporting member [0. Whenthe machine is operating andsaid l'ever 46 is rotated clockwise from theposition shown in Fig. 3, in a mannor to be described hereinafter.the'shoulder 4'1 cooperates with the inner arm of the lever 44, to moveit upward, thus effecting a clockwise rotation of lever 36 to releasethe trigger lever 32 and thereby break the circuit.

Secured to the sides of the analyzer frame l2, as at 5| and 52, isa'yoke-like cross member 53 (Figs. 1, 2, and 3), which member is soconfigured as not to interfere with the rotation of the feed rolls 26. Ahorizontal slide 54, attached to the cross member 53, by means of pinand slot connections 55, and resiliently urged to the left in Fig. 2 bya spring 56, is connected by a pin 51, through a' slot 58 in member 53,to a downwardly extending lever 59, pivotally mounted on said member 53as at 66. Also mounted on the cross member 53 are sensing slides 6|having cam surfaces 62 at their upper ends, said slides being slidablein consequence of pin and slot connections 63, and resiliently urgeddownward by springs 65. Protruding through slots 66 in the member 53 andcarried on the slide 54 are lrolls 61, which rolls are adapted to becammed to the right by cam surfaces 62 on the slides 6| when relativeupward movement occurs between eitheror both of said slides and themember 53 against the tension of springs 65. Through the abovearrangement of elements the said relative movement effects the 4leftward movement of an abutting end 63 on the aforementioned lever 59.j

In normal operation cards are fed seriatim and parallelly to theanalyzing chamber ii), in which they are each held and operated onduring one reciprocation of the analyzing frame i2.

mechanism is such that in normal operation no the feed rolls 26 and themouth of the chamber -19 when 'said'frame l2 reciprocates downward V(Figs. 2 and 3).

Therefore, when a card jam occurs or when cards enter the chamberaslant, the cards or corners thereof will be engaged by one or both ofthe aforementioned slides 6| during the early part of the reciprocationof the frame l2. Thus, the slides 6| are held relatively still while theframe continues downward, causing the rolls 6'! to be cammed to theright and thereby moving the abutting end 68 of the lever 59 to aposition over the extending arm '48 of the lever Q5. The slight distancemore which the frame I2 travels to the bottom of its reciprocation issufficient for effectively rotating said lever 46 clockwise to moveupward the inner arm of the lever 44.

In this manner the arm 43 of the locking lever 36 is engaged, and said.lever is rotated clockwise to release the latch nose34 of the triggerlever 32 from the notch 35, thereby breaking the motor circuit to stopthe machine.

While I have described what I consider to be a highly desirableembodiment of my invention, it is obvious that many changes in form.could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I,therefore, do not limit myself to the exact form herein shown anddescribed, nor to anything less than the whole of my invention ashereinbefore set forth, and as hereinafter claimed.

For'instance, it shall be obvious that the arrangement of elements canbe modifiedand the reciprocation of the analyzing mechanism can still beeffectively utilized in detecting abnormally fed cards and in thestopping of the machine. Also, the present invention is obviouslyapplicable to machines in which cards are conveyed to means other thananalyzing mechanisms and in which alternative means can be utilized forreciprocating the component elements.

What I claim as new, and desire to's'ecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with means for normally conveying cards seriatimalong a common path, of a controlling means for said conveying means,locking means for said controlling means to 'maintain said conveyingmeans effective, normally ineffective reciprocating unlocking means, andresilient slides reciprocating into said common path between normallyconveyed cards and adapted for rendering efiective said unlocking meansupon the engagement of an abnormally conveyed card to stop saidconveying means.

7 2. The combination with means for normally conveying cards seriatimalong a common path, of a controlling means forsaid conveying meansincluding an electric circuit and means for looking said circuit closedto maintain said conveying means effective, means adapted to reciprocateperpendicularly to said common path, normally ineffective unlockingmeans carried on said reciprocating means,f'and resilient means alsocarried on said reciprocating means for entering said common pathbetween normally conveyed cards and movable relative to saidreciprocating means upon the engagement of an abnormally fed card, saidunlocking means being rendered effective by said relative movement toopen said circuit.

3. In combination, means for normally conveying cards serially andparallelly along a common path, a transverse member reciprocatingperpendicularly to said common path, means for controlling the conveyingmeans and the reciprocating transverse member, a locking means for saidcontrolling means and normally maintaining said conveying means andtransverse member operative, a lock release, a pair of sensing slidesmounted resiliently on said reciprocating transverse member and adaptedto pass through said common path between normally conveyed cards and tobe arrested by the engagement thereof with an abnormally conveyed card,and a normally ineffective lock release operating member mounted on saidtransverse member and rendered elfective'by an arrestation of saidsensing slides and the reciprocation of said transverse member.

4. In combination, means for normally conveying cards serially andparallelly along a common path, a transverse member reciprocatingperpendicularly to said common path, means for controlling the conveyingmeans and the reciprocating transverse member, a locking means for saidcontrolling means and normally maintaining said conveying means andtransverse member operative, a lock release, a pair of spaced apartsensing slides mounted independently and resiliently on said transversemember and adapted to pass through said common path between normallyconveyed cards and to be arrested by the engagement thereof with anabnormally conveyed card, a cross slide resiliently mounted on saidtransverse member and associated with said sensing slides, said crossslide being laterally actuated by an arrestation of either or both ofsaid sensing slides, and a normally ineffective lock release operatingmember mounted on said transverse member and rendered efiective by alateral actuation of said cross slide and the reciprocation of saidtransverse member.

5. In a sorting machine, the combination of means normally conveyingrecord cards serially and parallelly along a common path, a cardanalyzing unit adapted to reciprocate perpendicularly to said commonpath, means controlling path, means controlling the operation of saidthe operation of said conveying means and said analyzing unit, a lockingmeans for said controlling means and normally maintaining said conveyingmeans and analyzing unit operative, a lock release, sensing slidesreciprocating with said analyzing unit and adapted to pass through saidcommon path between normally conveyed cards and to be arrested upon theengagement thereof with an abnormally conveyed card, and a normallyineffective lock release operating member reciprocating with theanalyzing unit and rendered effective by an arrestation of said sensingslides and the reciprocation of said analyzing unit.

6. In a sorting machine, a card chamber, the combination of meansnormally conveying cards serially and parallelly along a common path tosaid chamber, a card analyzing unit adapted to reciprocateperpendicularly to said common conveying means and said analyzing unit,a locking means for said controlling means and nor-,

mally maintaining said conveying means and analyzing unit operative, alock release, a transverse member carried on said analyzing unit, a pairof spaced apart sensing slides resiliently mounted on said transversemember and adapted to pass through said common path just forward of thechamber mouth and between normally conveyed cards and to be arrestedindependently upon the engagement thereof with an abnormally fed card, across slide resiliently mounted on said transverse member and associatedwith the sensing slides, said cross slide being laterally actuated by anarrestation of either or both of said sensing slides, and a lock releaseoperating member mounted on said transverse member and normallyineffectively positioned for operating said lock release, said operatingmember being effectively positioned by a lateral actuation of said crossslide.

7. In a sorting machine, the combination of, a card chamber, meansnormally conveying record cards serially and parallelly along a commonpath to said chamber, an analyzing unit adapted to reciprocateperpendicularly to said common path and operate on said cards in saidchamber, means controlling the operation of said conveying means andsaid analyzing unit, a locking means for said controlling means andsettable for maintaining a continuous operation of said conveying meansand analyzing unit, a locking means release, a transverse yoke mountedon said analyzing unit above the chamber mouth, a pair of substantiallyvertical spaced apart sensing slides having camming portions formedthereon and being resiliently mounted on said transverse yoke, saidsensing slides being adapted to pass the lower extremes thereof throughsaid common path between normally conveyed cards during a downwardmovement of said analyzing unit and to be arrested independently duringan early part of said movement upon an engagement with an abnormally fedcard or portions thereof, a horizontal cross slide resiliently mountedon said yoke and operatively associated with the camming portions onsaid sensing slides, said cross slide being laterally actuated by anarrestation of either or both of said sensing slides, a substantiallyvertical lever pivotally mounted intermediate the ends on the said yokeand having the upper end thereof associated with said cross slide, theother end of said lever being an abutment normally ineifectivelypositioned for operating said locking means for release during adownward movement of the analyzing unit and effectively positioned by alateral actuation of said cross slide.

HAROLD P. MIXER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,991,729 Brougham Feb. 19, 19352,151,177 Aluine Mar. 21, 1939 2,154,022 Backhouse Apr. 11, 19392,325,774 Hohl Aug. 3, 1943

